The new-look Jesters venue, clean, bright and thoughtfully restored is outwardly the embodiment of everything good that’s been happening in Stokes Croft. Jesters employed a conservational architect to help bring the Grade 2 listed cinema back to life and the outside looks wonderful, although we were disappointed that they had done away with the bike racks.

Stokes Croft has been on the upswing for a couple of years now and while it’s great to see, the worry is always that new, smarter businesses will price out the locals. The new venue, while being pricier than the old, won me over with its Thursday deal: seven pounds entry, with all main meals priced at three pounds. A night of comedy and your dinner for a tenner and the food wasn’t bad. Much better than we used to get when the Magic Box was a Wetherspoons.

I popped along on the opening week to see what the new home of Jesters had to offer but the first thing that struck me what how uncomfortable the internal layout was. Long banquet-style tables at right angles to the stage meant that while no one had their backs to the comedians, no one was facing them either. We all had to swivel our chairs and we were so tightly packed that we couldn’t help banging elbows and knees with our neighbours. The waiters couldn’t get through – we had to pass plates over our heads to customers nearby – never mind trying to inch your way out to go to the toilet. I’ll put up with feeling like a battery chicken for a door-price of seven pounds but I’d feel cheated if I had paid the Saturday entrance price of fourteen. And I wouldn’t want to be in there if there was a fire.

The drinks were mostly set at high-end pub prices, about three pounds a pint. Strangely, Smirnoff vodka was £1.25 a shot, while a single shot of Jack Daniels was £2.50. It’s definitely a good idea to check the price lists on each table before you go to the bar.

The sound system was painfully loud – I saw one woman holding her ears during the intro music. The volume of the comedians themselves was just bearable but it seemed unnecessary considering the excellent, high-ceilinged acoustics of the place.

Having said all that, the comedy was spot-on. At one point I laughed so hard I choked on my cider, and laughing is, after all, the point of the place.

www.jestersnewvenue.co.uk

Anna Freeman